Tobacco and an additive



United States Patent TOBACCO AND AN ADDITIVE No Drawing. Application June 9, 195.1,

Serial No. 230,838

5 Claims. (Cl. 131-17) This invention relates to smoking tobaccos for cigarettes, cigars, or pipes. More particularly, the invention relates to a tobacco having associated therewith a quantity of an additive, which mixture is suitable for smoking. The tobacco and additive, when smoked in any of the conventional ways, produce a smoke which has a relatively low tar content. The smoke is mild to the taste; and the mixture, once ignited, tends to continue burning longer than ordinary tobacco.

Smoke from burning tobacco contains, among other things, a number of complex organic materials commonly referred to as tars. Ordinarily, these tars, together with the other constituents of the smoke, are drawn into the mouth and respiratory system of the tobacco smoker. It is believed by many that these tars in particular have a harmful effect on the body of the smoker, and that they contribute to the bite and bitter taste of many tobaccos. Several efforts have been made to provide a suitable means of extracting the tars from the smoke, prominent examples being the filters adapted for use with pipes, and cigarette and cigar holders.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a mixture of tobacco and an additive such that when the mixture is smoked in the conventional manners, without the use of filters, tips, traps or other special equipment, the amount of tars drawn in by the tobacco smoker is relatively low.

Another object is to provide a mixture of tobacco and an additive which, when burned, gives a smoke that has a milder taste than would smoke from the same tobacco if that tobacco were smoked in the absence of the additive of the present invention.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an additive for tobacco which improves the smoking properties of the tobacco to the extent of permitting the upgrading of the tobacco in association with the additive.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mixture of tobacco and an additive, which mixture has burning properties superior to those of untreated tobacco.

These objects are accomplished by mixing with tobacco, which has been shredded or otherwise prepared in the conventional manner, a quantity of cuprene. The cuprene is effective in quantities of less than one percent of the weight of the tobacco, and in general its effectiveness is increased as the amount present is increased. Since the taste of the smoke depends to a great extent on the percentage of tars present therein, the amount of cuprene actually used in smoking mixtures will usually depend upon the taste desired. Quantities of cuprene from 2% to 4% by weight of tobacco have given excellent results.

Cuprene, a high molecular weight hydrocarbon produced by the polymerization of acetylene, is a yellowishbrown to colorless material. As usually prepared, by heating acetylene in the presence of a copper oxide catalyst, cuprene is in the form of fine, curled threads having a diameter of from about 0.1 to 1.0 micron. While cuprene may be prepared according to the prior art substantially freeof extraneous material, a certain amount of copper or'other metal, such as nickel or cobalt, present in the catalyst is generally associated with the cuprene prepared by the catalytic process. If desired, the associated metal can be removed, at least in part, for example, by leaching. It has been found convenient in the practices of the invention to use cuprene containing from 0.2% to 0.5% copper. The catalytic metal which might be present in the cuprene has not been found to have any appreciable effect on the results obtained with the tobacco and cuprene. Accordingly, it will be understood that relatively small amounts of extraneous material may be present in the cuprene without departing from the scope of the invention.

The cuprene blends easily with the tobacco and can be mixed with or applied to the tobacco in any suitable manner. With cigarette and pipe tobacco, tumbling the cuprene and the tobacco together either before or after shredding the tobacco is an effective way of mixing the two. Spr-inkling or dusting dry cuprene on tobacco leaves before they are fashioned into cigars is a suitable way of associating the cuprene with the tobacco in a cigar.

When tobacco prepared according to the invention is smoked, the amount of tars in the smoke drawn in by the smoker is much less than the tars in the smoke from untreated tobacco. in one test a number of cigarettes were unpacked and about 4% by weight of cuprene, based on the weight of tobacco was mixed with the tobacco. The cigarettes were then repacked so that the weight of tobacco in each cigarette was the same as it was originally. These cigarettes and similar untreated cigarettes were lit and smoked so as to approximate the action of a normal smoker. Air was drawn through the cigarettes in puffs lasting two seconds, the quantity of air drawn through on each puff being about 44 milliliters. The smoke was passed through a cotton plug which retained the tars. These tars were subsequently extracted from the cotton with acetone and, after the acetone was evaporated, the tars were weighed. The weight of tar recovered from the smoke was compared to the total weight reduction of the cigarette.

When the cigarettes were burned about half their length, the tars in the smoke from the cigarettes containing 4% by weight of cuprene, based on the weight of tobacco averaged about 1.25% of the loss of weight of the cigarette, while, for the untreated cigarettes, this figure was 3.77% by weight. When the cigarettes were about three quarters consumed, these values averaged 2.37% by weight and 5.76% by weight for the cuprene treated and untreated cigarettes respectively.

In another series of tests, plain tobacco was placed in the bowl of a pipe and lit. Air was drawn through the tobacco at intervals as in ordinary smoking to determine the frequency of putling necessary to keep the tobacco ignited. The tobacco ceased to burn when the puffs were from 1 /2 to 2 minutes apart. Similar tobacco containing about 4% by weight of cuprene, based on the weight of tobacco was tested under similar conditions, and this tobacco was still burning enough so that the pipe could be smoked without further lighting when the period between puifs was increased to between 4 and 5 minutes.

What is claimed is:

1. A composition of matter comprising tobacco and cuprene.

2. A smoking tobacco mixture containing cuprene in intimate admixture with the tobacco.

3. A cigarette containing tobacco and cuprene in intimate admixture.

4. A composition of matter comprising tobacco and cuprene in an amount up to 4% by weight of said tobacco.

3 4 5. A smoking tobacco mixture containing cuprene in FOREIGN PATENTS an amount up to 4% by weight of said tobacco. 418,006 Great Britain Oct 17 1934 References Cited in the file of this patent OTHER REFERENCES UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 Clieniistry of Synthetic Resins, Ellis, vol. I, Reinhoid 1 4 2 430 Bosse July 4 1 Publishlng p, 1935, PP 146 and 1,828,560 Liefde Oct. 20, 1931 2,114,281 Allen Apr. 19, 1938 

1. A COMPOSITION OF MATTER COMPRISING TOBACCO AND CUPRENE. 